Political Quotes

“For the purpose of closing. Madam Speaker, in 2002, the House authorized the Bush administration to go to war the Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. It makes no sense that this authorization is still on the books when the original purpose of it has long passed. It is dangerous when we see an administration trying to claim that this decades-old vote gives them a green light to conduct military actions against Iran. With this measure today, there is no blank check for war. The President must come to the Congress. We want to fill our constitutional role. Only Congress can declare war, not the President. With this measure today, we can finally reclaim Congress' constitutional role in war powers and repeal this outdated authorization that has been misused time and time and time again. As my friend from Texas knows, the 2001 9/11 AUMF is cited as the authority for every operation against terrorists in Iraq. This AUMF needs to be updated and limited. The 2002 Iraq war AUMF does not need to be updated; it just needs to be repealed. What we are saying here is that there should be no automatic blank check for war. If this President or future Presidents want to go to war, they must come to Congress. Only Congress can declare war. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this, no blank check for war. If war is necessary, it will happen, but it shouldn't be a blank check for Presidents to go to war.…”